Cat Tip of the Day: Finding the Perfect Cat Bobber

I’ve noticed a few posts lately where the poster has talked about using a float or bobber to present the cat bait. I’ve done some research into trying to find a good cat bobber and I thought I would share a few internet sites that offer bobbers tailored to catfishing.

#1. Wild Wolf Products I just purchased the 4″ Kat Bobber and was quite pleased with the response from this site. This is by far the cheapest price you will find for a good cat bobber – I paid $3.50 for the 4″ model plus $5.10 shipping. When I got the package the site manager “Gene” included an extra 3″ model with a note that said “Thanks for the order. I tossed in an extra for a new customer.”

The Kat Bobber is a slip bobber designed to handle a pretty good sized live bait. It is designed with a hole in it that will accept a chem light stick for night fishing. This store also sells chemical light sticks designed to work with their Kat Bobbers. They offer 100 8 inch light sticks for $10 which is a pretty good price.

#2. Premier Plastics Inc I have not purchased from this site but I plan to. Their cat bobbers are well priced and affordable costing about $5.50 each. They offer a line of cat bobbers designed to handle a variety of weight options from 1 oz – 2 oz – 3 oz – 4 oz – 5 oz. They look like they would be perfect for handling a large bullhead.

#3. Cabela’s Gamakatsu Night Flier Float. When you get to the Cabela’s website do a product search for “Gamakatsu Night Flier Float” and it should take you to that product. I own one of these and it is a great lighted night cat bobber. It lights up very bright and can be easily seen from a long way away. I didn’t realize how expensive they were until I started this cat tip. Cabela’s sells the large bobber for $17.99. It is an expensive bobber but it sure does work great in the darkest of nights. If you haven’t tried hanging a bullhead under a bobber you’ve got to try it. When a flat grabs that bait it will remind you of the movie “Jaws”. That bobber just takes off and slides under the waves. It is pretty exciting fishing.

Well, there are 3 options for you. I own 2 Kat Bobbers and 1 of the large Gamakatsu Night Flier Floats. I may just pick up a couple of the cat stalker bobbers by Premier Plastics just to round out my collection.

Good Luck and Good Fishing.

I know what a guy would do to save a $5 bobber from an early departure via a tree, but what would he do for an $18.00 bobber?

I think this float stuff is the next frontier for catfishing, unchartered territory per se.

I don’t think it will revolutionize, but rather expand your arsenal.

It’s tough to make a drastic change to the way you fish, and admittedly I don’t do it enough, but I’ve learned with other species, that the rewards of the risk can sometimes be unbelievable.

Here’s another bobber:

Rig a snap swivel to use as a slide above your sinker along with a bead and a bobber stop, blow up a small balloon and use the snap to attach the balloon (at the knot of course). Voila……slip bobber. You can add water or a litestick to the inside of the balloon as needed.

I have been using a 5 inch thill cigar float that I put reflective tape on. I could still see it with my red headlamp for about 50-70 yds away pretty clearly.

I also have used a 9 inch (little joe I think) pole float that seems to work very well with a high profile that the reflective tape works very well with.

Both Floats I got from Moore’s Bait.

dtro has it right. Use a cheap ballon and if you lose it in a snag its only a couple of cents, not a few bucks. And besides that they do work great.

Hey Darren – Here is that balloon setup. I haven’t tried it but I plan on giving it a chance this summer. It would be pretty cool watching a cat try to pull it under.

Here is a closer look at the balloon setup:

Have you tried a balloon with a glow stick in it?

Quote:

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Have you tried a balloon with a glow stick in it?

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I can’t say I have, but I know guy that has tried a sucker with a glow stick in it.

Nice posts! When the flow slows…

I’d love to hear the reports when you guys get out and try all these bobbers. I’ve done it some, but not a lot – probably not enough to draw any conclusions from. There are some disadvantages that you’ll run into, and I’d like to hear how you do. I originally thought that floating bait back into timber would be a great way to avoid the bottom clutter and get the bait closer to the resting holes, but bobbered baits are not anchored baits, alas, and I got a lot of snags. Once you’ve tied your elaborate bobber setup and cast it out to get snagged, you don’t want to break it off, so you end up with a line out and snagged until you move. Part of the problem could be that my pool has very slow current much of the year, so a live bait under the bobber has a lot of freedom to roam. This is also a problem if you’re trying to fish multiple lines because your bobbered bait will find its way over/under/across/through all your other lines in what seems like no time.

Bottom line (no pun intended) for me was that bobbers were too much hassle with too little payoff – they didn’t add that much to my presentation but did add to my frustration level.

Not to discourage though, there are probably ideal situations for bobbers and if you have the extra rigs to play with keep one rigged and ready in the boat for that chance.

Matt – I’ve had the same problems with my float drifting a bullhead too close to the cover and him getting me hung up. Then you are sitting there with a hung bait in one of your favorite spots.

I plan on doing some experimenting this summer. I’ve got a couple of good spots that are in heavy cover. I’m going to try a Float-Paternoster Rig that I found in an In-Fisherman book. I plan on positioning my boat where I want the rig to be and then anchor my Float-Paternoster Rig with a heavy enough sinker to keep the bullie from towing it away. I’ll then move the boat to my anchor position and see what happens. Here is a scanned picture of the Float-Paternoster Rig that I took from the In-Fisherman Freshwater Rigs & Riggings book. I highly recommend this book for the techniques it provides.

I use the Thill Walleye bobbers witht the lights in them for my channel presentation. I have used Little joes for livebait on the river. I agree with Matt that they are often a pain to use. I fish weedlines a lot and they are great for that. The balloon is a an interesting idea. The infisherman article in the latest issue about trolling blues they are using little boards. I imagine you could do that while shore fishing as well. I have one spot on the Wisconsin where a backwater meets the river proper. There is no current to speak of but big cats go back in the backwater so it is an approach to a feeding area. I put bobbers out here and they work great. I always downsize livebait when doing this.

I don’t like the glow sticks. I tried to use them one year and they die if not kept at the perfect temp until use. If you go that route don’t try to stock some buy new before you head out.

Steve, that was kind of the rig I was thinking would make a good application for fishing heavy snags with the boat positioned up stream. Isn’t that basically a drop shot with a bobber? Depending on the current, I’d think it would take a hefty weight and bobber.

The only other application (for flats) I have wanted to try is when fishing a daily migrational area relatively free of tangles or when the tangles are on the bottom. It would be a smallerer eddy that would just make you float go around in a circle. I like the idea of covering a lot of area as opposed to just sitting and waiting.

I’d be more apt to use a bobber for channels who feed more regularly through out the water column.

You guys have given me some good info here.. I have never tried live bait for cats under a bobber. I never even thought of the bait finding cover while floating too. I did have some decent success last year with cut under a bobber for channels. I fished mostly current seams, and slower moving back channels.

I have had great success in the past(when I wasnt as lazy) snag jumping in the daylight dropping in the standard weight and cutbait rig for flatheads. I thought the bobber application might work even better because you can be further away from a snag and control the drift of the bobber nearing a snag. If I try this(I will), I will stick to cut and not live bait.

When I get into July and August, I have better luck for flatheads on cutbait anyhow. I can visualize a juicy chunk of cut bait hovering half way down the water colum a few feet ahead of a snag just teasing that flathead in its hiding spot. If its hungry, it should come snap it up… which would be way more practical than having the boat 10′ away flipping your bait in trying to rip out 30# fish the second you feel your line twitch or you lose the fish to the snag.

I have learned that circle hooks do work good under a float.. and they dont get snagged up quite as much.

Dave – I’ve been thinking the same thing about bobber drifting cut bait into heavy cover. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make the rig weedless to cut down on the number of snags. I have some 4/0 weedless hooks that will hold a nice chunk of cut bait and should be pretty effective at eliminating the snagging problem. My plan is to put enough weight right at the hook to help control the drift, probably use egg sinkers until I get the right weight figured out. I am also going to try some weedless jigs like those shown and will add some weight right at the jig depending on the amount of current.
I figure I can anchor upstream and drift the rig right down and into the front edge of the cover and let if sweep along with the current. If I can keep the hook weedless it should prevent most of the hangups. I’ll let you know how this works.

I’ve always wondered about dragging jigs for cats, similar application, just no cork. We always seem to catch small to medium sized cats when dragging live bait for ‘eyes through the timber in the summer. I wonder if dragging bigger baits the same way would yield bigger cats????